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The List of Books

First of all, a disclaimer. I have primarily chosen books with which I was somewhat familiar at the outset of the project. This means that this list is absolutely not a valid representation of world literature. It is completely skewed in the direction of Western civilization and the literature thereof. I am aware of this and I have decided that for this project, I'm okay with this. Also, these books do not necessarily represent my own personal views, as they were chosen not to influence my beliefs but for the influence they have had historically and culturally on parts of the world. And lastly, this list, as any such list must be, is incomplete. There are hundreds more books that could easily have made this list and yet they have not, for the simple reason that there is just not sufficient space.

N.B. Some of the books on this list are called by slightly different titles in different places and I am attempting to fix any that are incorrect.

KEY:In progressCompleted (clicking on the book will link to the first blog post about this book)

12 comments:

This is quite a list! How did you decide what to include in it? Were you inspired by any other lists - like the BBC 100 books everyone should read list? I'm curious which classic books you've already read. I love classics myself! I've read 16 of the ones on your list. You've inspired me to post up a list on my blog one of these days of books I'd like to read. Good luck with your project. I'm sure I'll check back and see how it's coming along.

Hi wxroz! Thanks for visiting! I was absoluteley inspired by other lists, both professional ones (like the BBC's and TIME magazine's) and personal ones I found around the web. Mainly I chose books I was previously familiar with but hadn't read. I tried to get a smattering of time periods represented and I tried not to put too many books by the same authors (Jane Austen made the list three times but she's the exception). As far as classics I've already read, I've read all of Shakespeare's stuff (which is why he's not on the list) and I've read a bunch of others: some Dickens, Anna Karenina,Angela's Ashes, Animal Farm, Lord of the Rings, and many children's classics, just to name a few.

I'm looking forward to seeing you here more, and don't forget you can like the project on Facebook and follow it on Twitter if you haven't already!

Hi Anna,Thanks for the reply, and for visiting my blog! I will have to check out the TIME magazine list, as I haven't seen that one yet. What did you think of Anna Karenina? I haven't read the Lord of the Rings series yet, but that's going to be my goal for next year. This year I read the Chronicles of Narnia. I'm actually not on facebook or twitter, but thanks for the heads up! :)

I liked Anna Karenina, but I didn't love it. I think because I didn't love the main character that much. I much prefer War and Peace!

I've seen the 2000 miniseries of Anna Karenina, and it was pretty good. I can't wait to see the new movie that's coming out (or already did come out?) this year. Even though I'm not a fan of Keira Knightley, I like some of the other cast members. They might have to hack the plot a bit to fit it in to a reasonable time length... it should be interesting!

I checked out the TIME magazine list, but I didn't realize it was books published after 1923! Usually I don't like books published after 1900. :) So there are a few I want to read on the list, but not too many.

Hello! Thanks for stopping by the blog! I think I might read Brothers Karamozov next, actually. I actually really like reading on e-readers, plus I can get most of the books for free, so that's a plus! Otherwise this project would probably get expensive!

Hi Anna - I keep looking over your list and seeing all of these great books that I've never read. I'm thinking I might start a list to start in the New Year. Thanks for the inspiration to read the classics!